The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 36 The Seventh Day of the Seventh Month and the Qiqiao Festival in the Tang Dynasty

Li Chengqian turned his eyes away from the blueprint, rubbed his sore eyes, and whispered, "They must have been playing cards for so long, their backs must be sore from sitting."

Ning Er nodded heavily and said, "That's right."

“Hahaha…” Li Chengqian laughed, “You see, now there is a demand.”

Ning Er was puzzled and said, "Your Highness, what you said..."

Li Chengqian closed his eyes, relaxed his body, and had a smile on his face.

Ning'er took two steps forward, pressed the Crown Prince's shoulder, and was thinking.

The drawings designed by Xu Jingzong for the Ministry of Works were generally very good, and the design of the karez went smoothly.

Ning'er looked at the blueprint and whispered, "How about the blueprint designed by the Ministry of Industry?"

Li Chengqian regained his composure and replied, "I have already sent the original drawing to Xu Jingzong. This drawing was drawn later by the Ministry of Industry. However, there are some joints that seem wrong no matter how you look at them."

Sitting up again, Li Chengqian picked up the brush beside him and drew a circle at the water inlet of the karez. He said, "We need to make some further improvements. Add a cover to the water inlet. When the water level overflows the cover, the cover will be compacted by the water pressure. When the water level is low, it will open automatically."

He raised his head and glanced at Ning Er standing behind him, and explained, "It's a device that can be built by adding a bracket and a rope. The principle is very simple, just like the water cover of a flush toilet."

After hearing His Highness's words, and thinking of the flush toilet in the East Palace, Ning'er immediately nodded and said, "So that's how it is. This should be a good thing that is very convenient for irrigation, but His Highness's words always seem to spoil the view."

Li Chengqian continued: "So, the simple wisdom of labor has always been a rare treasure in our human history."

Ning'er nodded and smiled. It was really a good thing that the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty could always care about the people.

"Although I don't know what auspicious signs are, and I have never seen one, this simple and ingenious thing must be better than auspicious signs."

Outside the palace, Li Lizhi heard Sister Ning'er's laughter in the bedroom. She looked out the window and saw Sister Ning'er standing behind her brother, covering her mouth and laughing.

He seemed to be smiling happily and bending over.

Li Lizhi withdrew her gaze and patiently fixed the edges of the soap with Xiaofu, making the soap a square piece that looked good.

A moment later, two figures came running from the front hall. They were Li Zhi and Li Shen. They ran all the way, still competing to see who could reach the emperor's brother's bedroom first.

"Royal brother!" Li Zhi ran into the hall first and shouted loudly.

"Yes." Li Chengqian looked at his two younger brothers approaching.

Li Zhi was not very tall, so he had to look up to see people when he spoke. "I heard from my mother that someone is reselling soap in the market."

Li Chengqian clicked his tongue and said, "Most of the soap is sent from the Eastern Palace to my mother. Even if my mother wanted to give me a reward, she wouldn't give me too much. Where do they get the soap to resell?"

Thinking about it more carefully, I remembered the key point that I had previously overlooked.

Li Chengqian said slowly: "My mother won't give out soap lavishly, but my father will give out soap differently. He might give everyone a piece at any time."

Li Shen's face was solemn as he said, "It's probably like this."

Although the raw materials for soap were not expensive and people from the palace could go out and bring back a lot of unwanted lard, when one thought about how frugal the palace was and how one had a prodigal father, one always felt a little uncomfortable.

However, it was the time when the old and the new were changing in the court. The old ministers represented by Gao Shilian, my uncle, Yu Shinan, and Wang Gui, as well as the old officials of the government during the Wude period, left the court.

This was a time when new forces of the Zhenguan period, such as Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, and Cen Wenben, were about to come to power.

At this moment, my father distributed soap to maintain the unity and harmony in the court, so that everyone can complete the transfer of power happily. There is nothing wrong with that.

When my father was distributing soap, did he say that the soap came from the Eastern Palace?

I feel sad to some extent, very sad...

Li Zhi said, "Brother, I heard that the soap sold outside is only this small."

Seeing him using his thumb to explain that the soap sold in the market was only the size of a thumb, Li Chengqian asked in confusion, "What's the price?"

"The ones with fragrance are five hundred coins each, and the ones without fragrance are eighty coins each."

They can divide a whole bar of soap into about ten to fifteen pieces, but even that is not enough to sell.

The total amount of soap given to Lizheng Hall was only about three hundred yuan. These soaps were originally intended for the queen mother to be used as rewards during certain festivals.

Li Chengqian nodded, thinking with a stern face, "There are fakes."

Li Zhi was still a little angry and said, "Why don't I help you sell soap?"

"You should study hard instead of selling soap."

He added: "Why don't we ask Father to arrange for someone to sell it."

Li Chengqian sighed, "Everyone should do their homework for me. Who dares to sell soap and wait for duty to clean the toilet?"

The two younger brothers fell silent again, too timid to say a word.

Can I let my father sell this soap?

What Donggong has before his eyes are all his unique things.

Once the money falls into the hands of my father and my mother, it no longer belongs to the Eastern Palace.

Looking at these two stupid brothers, Li Shen will not say anything for now.

Look at this kid Li Zhi, is he planning to hand over such a good business to his father, the emperor and his mother?
How did he become emperor?
Li Lizhi had expected this to happen when she saw Li Zhi and Li Shen walking out of her brother's bedroom with long faces, but she still couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Sister, why are you laughing?"

Li Lizhi packed up the soap, led her two younger brothers to the front hall, and urged them, "Help your sister weave Shu brocade."

Seeing that Li Zhi was still somewhat reluctant, Li Lizhi said, "It will be the Weaver Girl Festival soon. All the palace maids and father's concubines must weave silk."

Li Zhi said: "My brother knows."

"Then don't ask, just help your sister weave."

Hearing the imperial sister's order, Li Shen sat down to help.

Seeing that Li Zhi was still standing there and refusing to take action, Li Lizhi whispered, "You are not as sensible as Shen'er right now."

"My brother is too wronged."

Although Li Lizhi was only twelve years old, she had experienced much more than Li Zhi since childhood. Li Zhi had no memory of the Qin Palace and did not know what had happened at Xuanwu Gate.

I have never experienced the life of being in danger of losing my life every day, worrying all day and planning to escape from Chang'an at any time.

Seeing the imperial sister's unquestionable expression, Li Zhi pursed his lips and sat down to help with the needlework.

The three siblings were weaving Shu brocade when Li Lizhi asked, "Tell me, what happened?"

Li Zhi repeated what he had said to his brother before.

Li Lizhi didn't stop sewing and whispered, "Is it necessary to worry your brother about this matter?"

Li Zhi thought about it, scratched his head, frowned, and thought that it seemed that it was indeed unnecessary, and maybe he didn't even need to say it.

Ning'er walked out of the prince's bedroom and saw the three siblings weaving Shu brocade. Even if they were fighting at other times, these princesses could only calm down when they were with Princess Changle.

This kind of trust alone makes even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince feel ashamed of himself.

The grapes in the East Palace have not been planted yet. Ning'er walked in front of a rack. The grape vines were growing well, but no fruits were produced.

Li Chengqian was still in the palace, looking at Xu Jingzong's work summary during this period. This was the rule set by the Eastern Palace for Jingyang. It had been a long time since I saw Doctor Sun. I heard that he was at Du He's house, which also made Du He's house full of guests every day.

Everyone wants to see Dr. Sun, whether they are sick or not.

I don’t know what Dr. Sun thought about the microorganisms he mentioned.

In fact, this knowledge is the same whether you say it once or twice.

After you let go of it, it doesn’t matter whether others can understand it or not, you’ll get used to it anyway.

Yu Zhining hasn't been to the Eastern Palace for a while. I heard that he helped Cen Wenben edit the clan history.

Xu Xiaode had gone on a long journey, and due to the arrangement of the court, he had some important matters to attend to in Tongguan.

If he hadn't written to the Eastern Palace from time to time, he would have thought that this man had run away with his daughter, saying that he would return to Chang'an in the next few days.

He has been saying this since May, haha...it's already July.

Li Chengqian had a discouraged look on his face. He snatched the round fan from Xiaofu's hand and started fanning himself.

Seeing this, Xiaofu stepped aside, picked up another fan, and continued to fan the prince. She thought to herself that she must be fanning too slowly, and the prince felt that there was no wind?

"Okay, you should take a lunch break too."

"Yes." After hearing His Highness's order, Xiaofu stopped fanning and retreated with a bit of grievance on his round face.

Ning Er held a plate of washed peaches and said, "Your Highness, this is sent by Lizheng Palace."

Li Chengqian picked up the peach and took a bite, frowning and saying, "In another month, we can harvest in summer, right?"

Ning'er knelt beside him and poured cooled boiled water into His Highness's bowl. She nodded and said, "In most places in Guanzhong, grain can be harvested in August and the harvest will be finished in September."

Continuing to look at the brief sent by Jingyang, Li Chengqian continued: "According to our Tang law, civilians cannot be recruited during the busy farming season. As long as the summer harvest is over, Xu Jingzong can recruit all the young and strong men in Jingyang County into the workshop?"

Ning Er nodded and said, "That's right."

Li Chengqian continued, "That's right. After the summer harvest, let Xu Jingzong and Du He get busy."

Seeing her solemn expression, Li Chengqian smiled and said, "This is not the property of the Eastern Palace. The Eastern Palace will not be involved in its management."

Ning Er nodded and said, "Your Highness will make the decision on these matters. In two days, it will be the seventh day of the seventh month, and His Majesty will open a garden in Qujiang."

"I know."

The next day, Li Chengqian went to court early. After the summer, he came even earlier in the morning.

He arrived at the Taiji Hall punctually, just as the court was about to begin, neither early nor late.

After standing in the court, with a loud shout from the eunuch, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty arrived at the Taiji Hall.

At today's morning court session, there were obviously many empty seats in the courtroom. My uncle had not come to court for a long time and was in a state of being in office but retired.

There were fewer old faces in today's morning court, but more new faces.

For example, the person who is standing up to speak in the court is a new face. His name is Ma Zhou. He is the newly promoted Censor-in-Chief and now he is also a Doctor of the Imperial Court.

There are also Liu Li, Gao Ji Fu and others, all of whom have only recently appeared in the court.

When leaving the court, Li Chengqian, as he did every day, stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting until most of the ministers in the Taiji Hall had left before he walked out of the hall.

Standing on the steps of the Taiji Hall, my eyes swept across an open plain, and in the distance was Chengtian Gate.

Today's morning court talked about the Chinese Valentine's Day on the seventh day of the seventh month.

In fact, since the Book of Songs was handed down, the seventh day of the seventh month has always been a very beautiful festival since the Han Dynasty.

In the third year of Yuanshou during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Kunming Lake was dug, and stone statues of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl were erected on the east and west sides of the lake. It was said that this was in accordance with the celestial phenomena and the will of the people.

Later, Bai Juyi's Song of Everlasting Sorrow made the seventh day of the seventh month not so beautiful.

Never mind, at least the seventh day of July is still beautiful.

I walked down the stairs and took a few more steps before I saw a shadow following me.

After walking for a distance, the shadow was still following.

Looking back, I found that the owner of this shadow was the emperor's uncle Li Xiaogong.

Li Chengqian stopped and bowed slightly, saying, "Uncle, what are you doing following me?"

Li Xiaogong quickened his pace and said, "Play cards!"

Li Chengqian said: "Uncle, I don't usually play this game."

"If you had told me about this game earlier, I wouldn't have lost ten strings of cash to them for a month."

"What's wrong? Does the Eastern Palace have to pay for the money lost by the Emperor's uncle?"

"No need, I have something to tell you."

"Oh..." Li Chengqian understood and said, "Uncle, please come to Chongwen Hall."

Li Xiaogong walked quickly to the Chongwen Hall next to the East Palace. As usual, he received a basket of noodles, some mutton, and an extra portion of pickled mustard greens.

After sitting down, before he even started eating, Li Xiaogong said, "I heard that game was created by you? Why don't you play it yourself?"

Li Chengqian sat cross-legged beside the emperor's uncle's table, poured a bowl of boiling water and prepared to let it cool, "Because there is no opponent."

"You're talking nonsense..."

Li Xiaogong hesitated and swallowed the words he was about to say. He stared at his nephew and felt inexplicably scared.

Picking up the chopsticks angrily, he smiled and said, "Forget it. I'm afraid that if it gets out, I'll bully you, a junior."

Li Chengqian sat up straight and said, "What does the emperor's uncle want to tell me?"

Li Xiaogong picked up some pickled mustard greens, put them in his mouth and chewed them, saying, "This dish is good. How is it made?"

"Then eat more. It's not pickled well and is a bit too salty. Don't eat too much in one bite."

"Do you still remember the censor who impeached the Eastern Palace after you changed your mind about Zhao Jie?"

Li Chengqian said calmly: "Isn't he dead?"

Li Xiaogong snorted coldly.

Li Chengqian frowned and asked again: "Didn't the Dali Temple close the case? The man committed suicide."

Li Xiaogong looked around and lowered his voice and said, "He didn't commit suicide. He was killed by your aunt. Why did your aunt kill him?"

Li Chengqian remained silent.

He added: "Your aunt was afraid of offending Gao Shilian. Your uncle is the Minister of Personnel, in charge of official promotions. She was afraid that this would affect her husband's career, so she had no choice but to kill him to silence him."

With the mentality of eating melons and watching the fun, Li Chengqian looked calm, but also felt a little regretful. He shook his head and said, "For the sake of her career, she is willing to kill people. What a powerful method my aunt has."

"This matter has been exposed by Ma Zhou again. It really makes me laugh to death. Your aunt's family is probably finished. Your uncle's position as the Minister of Personnel will become your uncle Changsun Wuji's."

(End of this chapter)