The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 299 Why Cry, Why Laugh

Li Dao Zong turned his head and said, "No!"

Li Xiaogong asked again: "How about you buy three thousand volumes?"

Li Chongyi, who was following behind his father, held his forehead in pain. He suddenly felt very ashamed and didn't want to walk with his father anymore.

Li Tai came from behind and said with a smile, "Brother Chongyi."

Hearing this, Li Chongyi bowed and said, "Your Highness, Prince of Wei."

Li Tai walked towards the bustling Taiji Hall and asked, "Prince Hejian is still worried about selling books?"

"Yes, there are too many. They are piled up at home and cannot be sold. My father asked people to buy 6,000 volumes as soon as he asked. I am really ashamed."

Li Tai understood and said, "The Literature Museum wants a thousand volumes."

Li Chongyi asked: "Why do you need so many?"

"For teachers who are teaching in rural areas, Brother Chongyi, you may not know that now the Literature Museum can also send teachers to teach in rural areas. Both the Hongwen Museum and the Literature Museum can participate."

"Well, I'll send it to the Literature Museum tomorrow. No money is needed."

"Thank you."

Everyone is walking towards the Tai Chi Hall happily, in groups of three or four. The weather is not good tonight, with dark clouds gathering at dusk. I'm afraid the autumn rain is about to come.

Li Chengqian and his father had just finished the Mid-Autumn Festival sacrifice. They hurried back and had to change their clothes to attend the banquet in Taiji Hall. He put on his boots in the East Palace and straightened his collar.

Su Wan put the hair crown on her husband and looked at it carefully to make sure it was neat.

Normally, Ning'er does these things, but she had just given birth to a daughter and was recuperating, so Su Wan didn't let her get up.

Ning'er still needs to rest for half a month. Su Wan was still a little unfamiliar with combing her hair. After confirming that there was no problem, she said, "My mother and I will stay in the East Palace to take care of the children and will not attend the banquet."

Watching her husband stand up, Su Wan looked at His Highness's face and raised her head as well.

Li Chengqian helped her stand up and said, "I'll be back soon."

"Ah."

The Queen Mother was outside the palace, holding little Yu Tu and coaxing him. The child laughed, and the Queen Mother laughed too.

A few drops of rain fell, and it looked like a rainstorm was about to fall. Li Chengqian picked up the bamboo umbrella and said, "Mother, I am going to the banquet."

Empress Chang Sun's eyes were still on her grandson's smiling face. She just nodded without looking at her son.

Li Chengqian walked into the rain holding an umbrella. The rain was not heavy, and the drizzle made the entire palace wet. The sky was like blurred ink, spreading from east to west. Half an hour later, the entire night sky was pitch black.

Only the sound of rain remained in the night.

The banquet in the Taiji Hall had already begun. Li Chengqian walked to the front of the hall, took one more look at the guards standing outside the hall, stopped and asked, "Xue Rengui?"

Xue Rengui was a little surprised. He clasped his fists and saluted, "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Why are you standing outside the temple?"

"I came here to accompany General Zhang, and I will also escort him back."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

Xue Rengui's dark face grinned and said, "I am fortunate that Your Highness knows me."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I have a good memory. I won't forget it after just one look."

After returning from Tianshan, Xue Rengui looked not as strong as before and had lost a lot of weight. It seemed that Tianshan was also a torturous place.

Li Chengqian put down the umbrella in his hand, nodded pertinently, and walked into the hall.

Li Chengqian walked from behind the guests to his seat and sat down silently.

"Brother Emperor!"

Noticing Li Ke holding a glass beside him, Li Chengqian asked, "When did Brother Ke come back?"

Li Ke raised his cup and drank it all, explaining, "It was my father who summoned me back. Half a month ago, my father had someone deliver an order. Even if I have important things to do in Luoyang, I must come to see my mother during the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Li Chengqian patted his shoulder and said, "It's time to come back."

Then he saw that his brother was looking at everyone in the Taiji Hall and didn't seem to want to say much. Li Ke also withdrew his gaze and faced everyone with a smile.

At this banquet, there were also many generals who had returned from the Western Expedition.

The atmosphere at the beginning of the banquet is very good, everyone sits upright and behaves properly, but after three rounds of drinks and when everyone is drunk, it becomes a completely different scene.

There was also a group of noble sons sitting lazily, playing with the fruits in front of them without much appetite.

Li Chengqian turned his head and looked at the group of noble children sitting in the back row.

Noticing the prince's gaze, they suddenly sat up straight, all with their backs straight, as upright as possible. Even in front of their own father, they didn't sit like this.

Now their expressions changed from being casual at the beginning to being serious. They all looked straight ahead with bright eyes.

Li Chengqian withdrew his gaze and looked at the palace maids dancing to the drums and music in the hall.

The heavy rain was still falling outside the palace. When everyone had drunk a little too much, they relaxed and even walked around and toasted to the emperor.

When Li Chengqian saw General Li Ji walking to the palace gate, he followed him.

"His Royal Highness."

"Didn't Li Zhen come back?"

Li Ji said: "This kid asked his troops to deliver a letter. That's enough. He needs to stay in the Hexi Corridor and can't leave easily."

"Mr. Ying, you don't seem to be having a good time."

Li Ji bowed hurriedly and said, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Your Highness."

"Mr. Ying has something on his mind that he doesn't want to tell me?"

"Your Highness." Li Ji bowed again and said, "Guo Xiaoke is now recuperating in the Hexi Corridor. Zhen'er sent a letter saying that the doctor said he won't live long, at most one or two months, at most half a year. He can't return to Chang'an and may die on the way. Your Highness, please don't misunderstand me. I am not sympathizing with him."

"You're pitying him?"

Seeing that Lord Ying was silent, Li Chengqian said, "I admire heroes like Lord Ying who are loyal and righteous."

Li Ji said: "One cannot indulge oneself in the army, and cannot be partial to others. He should have died on the battlefield."

Li Zhi and Li Shen also hurried into the hall. The two younger brothers had just returned from playing outside and only just realized that they had to come to see their father to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. They walked into the hall regardless of their wet clothes.

The hall was very lively. Li Daliang was singing loudly with his arm around Qin Qiong's shoulders. Cheng Yaojin was dancing in the hall. The way the middle-aged and fat general danced was really unsightly.

But everyone was very happy, so happy that they forgot everything else.

Not long after, Yuchi Gong, biting a mooncake in his mouth, also jumped up with Cheng Yaojin.

The Tang people loved dancing and were all good at it, regardless of gender, age or status. This tolerant and tough folk custom became increasingly prosperous during the heyday of the Zhenguan period.

The strength and confidence of the Tang people were also built up through repeated wars. With the music played by the prostitutes, Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong danced to their heart's content.

Even the Emperor had a smile on his face. The situation in the Taiji Hall was about to get out of control and a group of middle-aged men were about to go crazy while drunk.

Li Chengqian simply walked outside the hall and breathed in some fresh air. Xue Rengui behind him was still standing there like a sculpture, motionless.

In the hall, Li Tai looked left and right but could not find his brother. He thought that his brother had probably left. Sometimes he envied his brother's ability, as he could always leave such a banquet quietly.

Li Tai didn't like the drunken look of a group of middle-aged generals in front of him. Most of them were going to leave the hall sideways.

He glanced at a eunuch standing inside the palace gate.

The other party took a small step forward after receiving your gaze, lowered his head and asked, "What do you want, Your Highness?"

Li Tai looked around and asked, "Where's my brother?"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince left half an hour ago, and also instructed me that there must not be any smell of alcohol in the Taiji Hall during the morning court tomorrow."

"Drunk?"

"Yes, if I can still smell alcohol in Taiji Palace tomorrow morning, I will most likely be thrown into Taiye Pond by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to feed the fishes."

"Hehe..." Li Tai smiled stiffly.

Then, while several old generals were fighting, Li Tai also wanted to leave the hall, but as soon as he stood up, he was stared at.

It is indeed not a good idea to leave rashly. How can I leave naturally like my royal brother without attracting attention?

The next day, the rain had not yet stopped and Li Chengqian was awakened by the crying of a child.

I haven't slept well these days. The process of raising a child has not been smooth and it has been very painful.

Li Chengqian picked up his daughter from the cradle.

Open the window a little to let outside air into the hall.

When my daughter cried, my son also started crying. I held one in each hand and they both stopped crying. Sometimes I really didn't know why the children were crying or laughing.

It was still raining outside the palace, and no one knew when this intermittent autumn rain in western China would stop.

After putting his son back into the crib, Li Chengqian placed his daughter on his knees, holding her with one hand, supporting his chin with the other, and closing his eyes to rest for a while.

Su Wan sat up from the bed and saw the prince sitting next to the cradle, with his head supported by one hand and his eyes closed. His breathing was steady as if he was asleep.

Ning'er pushed the door open with hot water, turned around and closed it. Seeing the prince's appearance, she smiled gently.

These two children tortured people a lot at night. In fact, these things can be left to the palace maids, but His Highness does it himself whenever he is in the East Palace.
"Your Highness, it's time for the morning court session."

Hearing Ning'er's words, Li Chengqian slowly opened his eyes and found that his daughter, who was originally on his knees, was already in Su Wan's arms.

His son was still sleeping in the crib. Li Chengqian took a deep breath and washed up.

Leaving the quiet East Palace, Xiao Sizi was practicing boxing outside.

The misty sky with drizzle could not stop her from practicing martial arts, as her skills were all taught by Taoist Master Li Chunfeng.

"Royal brother!" Little Sizi stopped his actions, straightened his Taoist robe and saluted.

Li Chengqian stood in the misty drizzle and nodded tiredly.

Little Sizi said: "My brother looks unwell."

Li Chengqian whispered, "I was woken up by the child three times during the night, once every hour on average."

Little Sizi took out Huang Jing from her sleeve and said, "My Royal Brother, have some of this. I dried it in the sun and steamed it myself."

Li Chengqian took a few pieces of Huangjing from his sister and chewed them. He then asked, "Is Taoist Master Li still in seclusion?"

Little Sizi also walked beside his brother with his hands in his pockets and said, "Well, I do eat the food that is sent to me every day, but I cannot see the Taoist priest. Mingda has to take care of the Imperial Observatory every day, and is now learning how to use the ecliptic armillary sphere."

Li Chengqian stepped on the wet ground and stopped with a frown.

Little Sizi also stopped with his hands in his pockets.

I thought that this little sister was learning quite fast. I only taught her to measure the stars with her fingers two years ago, and now she has started to learn how to use the ecliptic armillary sphere.

When Taoist Priest Li said he wanted to teach Xiao Sizi, he was not just saying it casually, he really wanted to teach her all his unique skills.

When they reached Chengtian Gate, Xiao Sizi said, "Mingda went to the Imperial Observatory first."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

Watching their sister walk through Chengtian Gate, the ministers who were about to attend the morning court smiled and saluted when they saw the little princess.

Little Sizi is a very sensible sister. She will greet anyone wearing official uniform whenever she meets them.

In this respect, he is much better than Li Zhi and Li Shen. These two younger brothers now live in the palace outside. I don’t know whether they wash their own clothes, wash up every day, or whether they still insist on morning exercises.

After thinking it over, Li Chengqian gave up again. It was not good to control their lives all the time. They had their own lives. They could be looked after when they were young, but now they should arrange their daily lives independently. This was a necessary process of growing up.

Judging from their age, Li Zhi and Li Shen were both in junior high school in later generations.

Li Dao Zong came hurriedly, took out two pieces of cotton cloth from the sleeves of his court robe, and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian said: "Uncle."

"Your Highness, please take a look at these two pieces of cotton cloth."

There was still half an hour before the morning court session. Li Chengqian looked at the cotton cloth and said, "The texture feels different in my hand."

Li Daozong explained: "The lighter colors are 50% cotton, and the darker colors are 40% cotton."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Is it difficult to decide on a price?"

"That's right. The more cotton a cloth contains, the more expensive it is. But if we sell it like this, there will be controversy. We are even more worried that the workshop will mix other materials into it."

There are always many problems in industrial development, and many things have happened in this process, just like the soy sauce produced by each workshop, the quality and taste are different, and the pricing is also different.

That's okay, because there are soy sauces to choose from. If this one is not good, you can just change to another one.

But cotton cloth is different. There are so many things that can be done with the ratio of flour to linen.

This involves issues of production and quality standards.

Li Dao Zong added: "Now merchants from all over the Central Plains come to Chang'an to buy goods. They are all waiting for cotton cloth. Someone mentioned this matter and came to negotiate the price. Xu Jingzong did not agree immediately, nor did he make any promises."

Li Chengqian said: "This is about the labor income of the villagers in each county. This matter must be strictly enforced. Xu Jingzong was right not to make promises to the merchants."

Walking along with the prince, Li Daozon also had a solemn expression on his face.

“The price of cotton cloth cannot be reduced, and it must be increased.”

As we walked into the Taiji Hall, the morning court was about to begin.

Li Daozon didn't know how to ask further questions after hearing this, so he had to wait until the morning court was over before asking His Highness for advice.

Li Chengqian walked step by step among the civil and military officials, breathing the air in the hall, which still smelled of alcohol.

However, he could not tell whether the smell of alcohol was left in the palace last night or came from the ministers who came to court at that moment.

The row of military generals in particular did not stand straight, but lowered their heads in deep sleep. They did not whisper to each other as usual, nor did they make the buzzing sound of low-flying mosquitoes.

It was very quiet at this moment, so quiet that one could faintly hear snoring.

(End of this chapter)