The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 245: Paper Father Ceremony
After packing up the fishing rod, he took his sister back to the East Palace.

After nightfall, Li Chengqian took a group of his brothers and sisters to the top of the city wall of Zhuque Gate, and asked them to hold a lantern each and celebrate the Lantern Festival with the people of Chang'an throughout the city.

A high platform was set up in the East Market. Li Chengqian led them to sit on the platform and watch the lantern festival and various acrobatics below the platform.

Li Lizhi glanced sideways and saw that Li Zhi and Li Shen had run to the stands at some point and were walking with Di Renjie.

"Brother Royal?"

Li Chengqian followed his sister's gaze and said with a smile, "Today is the Lantern Festival, let them have fun."

"Here."

Of course, the area under the stands is heavily guarded and no one can get close to it.

Li Chengqian was eating cakes and looking at the people who were enjoying the festival. A eunuch came hurriedly. He talked with General Li Ji in the stands for a few words, then hurriedly came up, handed over two or three memorials and said, "Your Highness, this is what His Majesty asked me to bring."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, still eating the cake, without looking at the other person.

Li Lizhi gestured to put the memorial aside.

The eunuch withdrew sensibly and did not urge His Highness to read the memorial.

As it was approaching midnight and it was time to go back, Li Chengqian sat in the carriage and looked through the memorials sent by his father, all of which were about his father's recent arrangements for the situation after the snow.

As expected, Yan Qinli was fined one year's salary.

Moreover, several villages and counties that were severely affected by the disaster were exempted from taxes for one year.

Many officials of Jingzhao Prefecture were commended and each of them was rewarded with 100 coins.

From the bustling Zhuque Street, through the quiet alleys, he ordered: "Stop at the back door of the Dali Temple for half an hour."

Li Ji responded loudly: "Yes."

The younger brothers and sisters were allowed to go back in the carriage first, while the prince's carriage was left parked at the back door of the Dali Temple.

It was so strange that the guarding clerk hurriedly reported the matter to Sun Fujia, the Minister of the Dali Temple.

By the time Sun Fujia hurried to the back door, the prince's carriage had left.

What is the intention of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace?

Young General Chu Mo and Young General Jing Heng of the Right Commander of the Eastern Palace are both in prison. Anyone who is smart enough knows that they have to serve the young masters in prison in a nice and courteous manner in the future.

The day after the Lantern Festival, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace went fishing again.

The emperor was very busy after returning to Chang'an.

On the third day after the Lantern Festival, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was still fishing.

On the fourth day, the prince was still fishing.

……

The prince has been traveling around the counties in Guanzhong in recent days. Some people suspect that he is here to see how the counties are doing after the snow, while others think that the prince is deliberately criticizing a few villages and counties that are not doing their job well.

It was not until February that Li Chengqian met Zhang Da'an on the riverside in Weinan.

Little Sizi was not by her side today. After Taoist Li Chunfeng came out of seclusion, she continued to learn skills.

Li Chengqian was only followed by General Li Ji.

Zhang Daan, who is now the magistrate of Weinan County, handed over a roll of paper and said, "Your Highness, this is the parchment made by the craftsmen."

"Parchment?" Li Chengqian took the roll of paper, rubbed the texture of the paper with his palm, and said, "This paper is clean."

"Your Highness, Weinan has invited several craftsmen from Qianzhou. They are Miao people."

"You mean the Miao people wearing white bird costumes?"

"That's right." Zhang Da'an replied, "Because there has been a lot of exchanges between Shuzhong and Guanzhong recently, many people want to sell goods to Chang'an. I received them and learned from them a way to make paper. These people have a lot of connections with the Marquis of Cai back then."

Li Chengqian understood that the Cai Hou that Zhang Da'an was talking about was Cai Lun from the Han Dynasty, and thus there came into being Cai Hou paper.

There are many ways to make paper. The secret recipe of paper in Du He's hand is rough, mainly using bamboo and hemp as raw materials.

Zhang Daan explained: "They use the unique hemp of Qianzhou to make paper. Nowadays, many people go to Qianzhou to buy paper. Now Weinan County has also mastered this papermaking method, but they just need Qianzhou to send hemp over."

This parchment paper is very thick and whitish, with a lot of linen fibers visible at the edges.

Li Chengqian tore off a sheet and observed it in the sunlight. The light transmittance was also good. He said, "Everything in production and manufacturing should be based on professionalism and division of labor."

"I understand."

Li Chengqian returned the paper to him and instructed: "Keep as many craftsmen as possible, so that you can have an extra copy of the paper secret recipe and have more preparation for the future."

"I accept your order."

"Da'an." Li Chengqian said with his hands in his pockets, "After you finish these things, you can come to Jingzhao Prefecture to take up your post."

"Here."

After saying this, he hurried back to the county.

Li Chengqian was walking along the Weishui River, thinking about Zhang Da'an's words. The source of the parchment paper he mentioned should be the Miao people in the southeast of Qianzhou, Guizhou in later generations, which was the source of the Shiqiao parchment paper.

It was not enough to rely solely on the paper of Du He's family. Even if he built a huge papermaking workshop in Luoyang, the court could not rely solely on it.

A soldier hurried over and whispered something in Li Ji's ear.

"Your Highness, Cheng Chumo and Li Jingheng are here to answer for their crimes."

Li Chengqian picked up a stone. The stone was very neat and was just right for padding the table in the East Palace kitchen. When Xiaofu was cooking this morning, he complained that the table was not stable.

"Let them both go back. They don't need to come here to confess their crimes. They should be more sensible in the future."

"Yes." The soldier left in a hurry again.

The prince is not strict in disciplining his army, while some people say that he is harsh in disciplining his army. Today, the Right General of the Eastern Palace's army does not look like an army at all, with only seven people.

If the prince had been strict in disciplining his army, Cheng Chumo and Li Jingheng would not have beaten people on the Lantern Festival.

The court has been on holiday these days, and the crown prince seems to have started his holiday as well, and has not been to the Secretariat these days.

I heard that although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is on leave, he has been inspecting the counties in Guanzhong under the pretext of fishing.

This situation continued until after the Lantern Festival. On the 15th day of February, when the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was 20 years old, the emperor ordered a Laozi sacrifice ceremony to be held.

It is not only a sacrifice to Laozi, but also a way to pray for the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace to turn twenty years old.

Twenty is an important age for a man. At this age he can get married. From then on, he has to bear all the mistakes alone and think twice about his words and actions, intending to shoulder the responsibility.

During the Li Tang Dynasty, Li Er was revered as his ancestor. Later, Princess Jinyang converted to Taoism, and the crown prince also had a close relationship with Taoist priest Li Chunfeng.

On that day, several censors started arguing about whether the prince was not strict in disciplining his army.

Many censors were still arguing about the matter of the Right Marshal of the Eastern Palace, but suddenly they all fell silent because they saw Princess Jinyang and the Crown Prince coming down in Taoist robes.

And His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also glanced at everyone.

This made some of the censors frown, some keep their heads down in silence, and some raise their heads and ignore the prince's gaze.

An old man with a Henan accent said loudly: "Dress properly and be serious."

Everyone present, including the emperor who was leading the worship, lifted their lapels and straightened their official hats.

Seeing that it was the emperor's brother who came, Li Tai, who was standing on the side, said: "Royal brother, this is the person invited by the emperor's grandfather to preside over the ceremony for me. He said he is a relative of our Li family."

"It seems that my father has been preparing for my twentieth birthday festival since the winter hunt." Li Tai nodded seriously and said, "Yes."

Li Chengqian had read the previous files. In the third year of Wude, when his grandfather had just ascended the throne, he worshipped Laozi Li Er as his ancestor and built a temple and a palace.

Noticing their mother approaching, the two brothers bowed together.

Empress Changsun stood aside, watching His Majesty leading all the officials to salute the altar, and whispered, "Cheng Qian?"

"Mother, please speak."

Empress Changsun first took her two sons' hands and bowed to the altar and portrait of Laozi.

All officials followed suit and saluted again.

As soon as the ceremony was over, two teams of young men and women wearing crowns and robes walked onto the stage and danced with long feathers in their hands.

Thus began the Laozi festival.

Seeing that there was no need to perform the ceremony, Empress Changsun said, "Your father always complains."

Li Chengqian asked, "Is it because I have been ignoring state affairs recently?"

"It's not that you don't care about state affairs. Your father is the emperor, and it's understandable that your father is in charge of state affairs."

At this point, Empress Changsun sighed and said, "It's just that your father often said that you, Qingque, and Ke'er were always plotting together."

Li Tai's scalp tightened, and he quickly said, "My mother misunderstood."

Empress Changsun said with some worry, "You three brothers are very united."

Li Tai spoke first: "Your son..."

Seeing her son's nervous and flustered look, Empress Chang Sun patted him on the back and said, "It would be good if you brothers could be more united. Hmm... very good."

Li Tai lowered his head.

Li Chengqian said calmly, "Father, you are worrying too much."

"Royal brother? Mother? What are you talking about?" Li Lizhi came over at some point. She was wearing a red robe and a hair crown. This outfit was exactly what she had prepared for the Laozi ceremony.

Li Chengqian whispered, "Father is suspicious of us."

"what?"

Li Lizhi's tone rose a few notches.

This caused the officials from the Ministry of Rites nearby to look over, but they quickly looked away and continued to arrange the ceremony.

Li Tai wiped his forehead subconsciously. Not to mention his royal brother, even Li Zhi's words seemed to be saying that father was going to rebel against us?
How could she think so.

Li Tai sighed and was very distressed.

Li Lizhi held her mother's hand and said, "She will definitely help us."

Empress Changsun stood between her two sons, and then led her daughter to her, placed her hands on her shoulders, and said with a smile: "You children are overthinking. Your father can't be said to be suspicious. Just tell your father more often if you have anything to say in the future, and don't hide it from him."

Li Lizhi nodded and said, "Since your father is praying for my brother, I will not argue with him."

Empress Changsun patted her daughter's shoulder and said, "You... people say you are not as well-behaved as before."

"My daughter has always been very well behaved."

The old man standing on the high platform shouted: "Prince Xuan!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian straightened his clothes, walked quickly forward and came to his father's side.

The old man took out a top hat and put it on the prince's head, and then an official from the Ministry of Rites handed him a stick of incense.

Li Chengqian and his father took the incense and put it into the big cauldron.

The old man who presided over the ceremony said loudly: "All officials pay homage."

The emperor and his son left the platform, and then officials came to burn incense one after another.

I followed my father to the other side of the platform, which was a little farther away from the officials. Under the warm sunshine, the officials lined up to burn incense for me.

Li Shimin looked at this scene and said in a deep voice: "You are already twenty years old."

Li Chengqian said: "My son has grown up."

Looking at his son who was as tall as himself, Li Shimin stroked his beard and said, "When a man reaches the age of twenty, he is no longer a boy."

"I am the crown prince, so I must be more careful with my words and actions. In the past, my uncle and I always helped me. But after this snowstorm, my uncle and I said something. I'm afraid that was the last time my uncle taught me."

Li Shimin nodded pertinently and asked, "What did the old man say?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "He said I did a great job."

"Nothing else?"

"Father, what else do you think there is?"

“Hahaha…” Li Shimin chuckled, “A man in his twenties no longer needs the protection of his elders. You are now in charge of the forty-eight counties in Guanzhong, and you are in charge of Tongguan and Luoyang. You are in charge of the court’s expenses, and all the money, grain and taxes are in your hands.”

"The officials in the court and the public are all watching you, the crown prince. You need to be more careful in your actions and not give others any reason to criticize you."

Li Chengqian looked at the officials who had just finished paying homage to Laozi and were gathered in groups of three or four to discuss the matter. The ceremony was coming to an end.

Looking at the solemn expression on his father's face, he asked, "Are you talking about Chu Mo and the others?"

The arrival of a palace maid interrupted the conversation between the father and son. She handed over a piece of clothing and said, "Your Majesty, it is ready."

Li Shimin took the clothes and put them on his son, saying, "This is the clothes that your mother asked three hundred women to sew with cotton. It is the one you asked people to bring from the Western Regions."

Li Chengqian put the clothes on, feeling that they were a bit heavy, with cotton sewn inside. He tried them on and put them on his father again, saying, "This winter clothes is very warm."

Li Shimin was wearing heavy clothes and stroked his beard, saying, "I heard from your grandfather that you want people in the Western Regions to grow cotton?"

"Well, let Ju Zhisheng go back. We all need a person to calm people's hearts in the Western Regions."

Below the stage, Changsun Wuji, who was paying homage to Laozi, looked towards the emperor and the prince standing on the stage, and happened to see the prince draping a piece of clothing on His Majesty.

His gaze lingered for a moment, and then he continued talking with Cen Wenben.

On the stage, Li Shimin asked: "Will he be loyal to the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Chengqian said: "It doesn't matter whether he is loyal to the Tang Dynasty or not. What's important is to let the people of the Western Regions see that he is still alive and has the trust of the Emperor and the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty."

"Haha, very good. I will issue an order tomorrow to have him return to the Western Regions to supervise the construction of the Anxi Protectorate."

Li Chengqian bowed and said, "Father, your majesty is wise."

The ceremony below the stage came to an end and the officials dispersed.

Before leaving, Li Shimin said, "You should go to Sanqing Temple more often these days to pay homage to him."

"My son, take your orders."

After the emperor walked away, Li Lizhi came running over and said, "When she came, Xiaofu said she made the zonggao herself."

"Has Qingque returned?"

"Brother Prince Wei has accompanied our mother back to Lizheng Palace."

Li Chengqian looked at his uncle in the audience, who was bowing and saluting from afar. He felt that his father and his uncle and teacher had arranged something again.

(End of this chapter)