The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 4: The Red Mansion and Mr. Cao
A toothbrush is a necessity in life. Li Chengqian hasn't brushed his teeth for three to five days. When he gets up in the morning, he usually wipes his teeth with a cloth.

Ning'er asked people to find goat hair and badger hair, the two types of hair can complement each other in softness and hardness.

It snowed heavily in Guanzhong again. Li Chengqian sat cross-legged in front of the palace gate, holding a cow bone stick in his hand, making a toothbrush.

By the time the toothbrush was finished, there was a lot of goat hair and horse hair left.

Li Chengqian made the extra hair into brushes and said, "Ning'er, give the two toothbrushes to your father and mother."

Ning'er put two toothbrushes into the box and said, "Your Highness can use jade to make toothbrushes in the future."

"Jade?" Li Chengqian replied, holding his hands in his pockets. "Jade is too precious. My father always says that we should be frugal. I should set an example for him."

"Reply to the Queen Mother with the words I have instructed you to say."

"I understand, Your Highness, don't worry."

Ning'er was becoming more and more satisfied with the current prince. She smiled and hurriedly left the East Palace holding a wooden box containing two toothbrushes.

It snowed heavily in Guanzhong again. This severe winter with constant wind and snow was disturbing, and the Lizheng Palace was in operation.

There were palace maids writing in the hall. They wrote down the stories from the Red Mansion written in the prince's diary that Ning'er brought, recorded them in another scroll, and then placed it in front of the queen.

Empress Changsun was holding a scroll in her hand and reading it.

When the palace maid saw the smile on the queen's face, she stood aside sensibly without saying a word.

So far, there are three volumes of the Red Mansion story told by Crown Prince Li Chengqian, from the time Daiyu lost her mother to the time Baoyu slept in Qin Keqing's bedroom.

The queen read with great interest, saying she had never seen such an interesting story.

In fact, ever since Ning'er wrote down this story in bits and pieces and gave it to the queen, and the queen distributed it to other concubines in the palace, this story has long been shining in the harem.

"Queen, Sister Ning'er is here."

Empress Changsun's eyes were still on the scroll of Red Mansions in her hand. She nodded and said, "Let her in."

Ning Er walked into the palace wearing cloth shoes, presented a box with both hands, and said, "Queen, this is what Your Highness asked me to bring to you."

Empress Chang Sun put down the bamboo slips in her hand. It was not that there was no paper in the palace, but the palace had been short of money in the past two years. Paper was a scarce commodity and too expensive, so bamboo slips were still used most of the time.

Empress Changsun asked, "Did Chengqian ask you to deliver it?"

Ning Er continued, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ordered..."

"I understand." Empress Changsun placed the box on a small table beside her, then took Ning'er's hand, asked her to sit down, and asked, "How is Chengqian's health?"

Ning Er replied: "It's much better now. Your Highness doesn't cough anymore."

Empress Changsun then asked, "I haven't seen him leave the Eastern Palace. Is he not recovering well?"

"Replying to the Queen." Ning Er bowed first, then said, "Your Highness feels that he has just recovered from his illness and needs to consolidate and stabilize his condition. He plans to recuperate for a while longer."

Ning'er said that she didn't know why His Highness had not been leaving the East Palace recently. It could be this reason, or it could be something else. In front of the Queen, she was willing to find a reason to cover up for His Highness.

Empress Changsun nodded and said, "That's fine, but it will be hard for you."

Ning'er narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Your Highness is very kind to Ning'er and the sisters in the East Palace."

"Cheng Qian..." After a pause, Empress Chang Sun asked again, "What has he been doing recently?"

"Your Highness often reads."

"What book is he reading lately?"

Ning Er recalled it again and explained, "I heard His Highness mention a person whom His Highness admired very much. He only mentioned a sentence occasionally, and I wrote it down. It seems that the person's surname is Ma, and his name is Ke Si..."

Empress Changsun tapped the bamboo slips that recorded the story of the Red Mansion and said with a smile, "Didn't Cheng Qian write the story of the Red Mansion?"

"Your Highness said it was written by a Mr. Cao."

"When did Cheng Qian get to know these people?"

"I heard from His Highness that this happened a long time ago."

Empress Changsun thought back to the time when His Majesty was still the Prince of Qin and everything in Chang'an City was in chaos.

At that time, I indeed neglected to take care of Cheng Qian, but fortunately, the child was sensible.

"You go back first. No matter who asks about the story of the Red Mansion, just say it was written by Mr. Cao from the East Palace."

"My slave understands."

Ning'er bowed and walked out of the Lizheng Hall in small steps. Walking in the wind and snow, she thought about the Queen's words that there was actually no Mr. Cao in the Eastern Palace.

The Queen does not want the Red Mansion to be designed by His Highness, because the innuendos contained in the Red Mansion will sooner or later cause trouble.

In fact, His Highness is Mr. Cao, and Mr. Cao is His Highness.

It's just a name.

Then let it become a mystery of the East Palace. It doesn’t matter what outsiders think.

The city of Chang'an seemed very quiet in the snow. There was a mansion in the city of Chang'an. This mansion was newly built. Many people knew that the emperor was partial.

The Eastern Palace was never built, but the emperor ordered the construction of a mansion for his younger son, King Li Tai of Yue.

King Li Tai of Yue was only one year younger than the crown prince, but he received a lot of care from the emperor.

What father isn't partial?

Li Tai was sitting in his own mansion. At the age of thirteen, he still had a childish face, but this King of Yue looked healthier, except that he was a little fatter.

At this moment, a group of servants from the Prince of Yue's palace knelt on the ground.

Li Tai looked at the book in front of him with bloodshot eyes. This Red Mansion came from the palace, so Li Tai read it over and over again for a whole day and night.

I was enjoying the story but it suddenly came to an end. What happens next?

Was Jia Rui murdered?

How could there be such a vicious person like Wang Xifeng in this world?

Thinking about the characters in the Red Mansion, Li Tai suddenly slammed the table and cursed: "How can this be possible!"

The servants were so frightened that they trembled all over and lowered their heads in silence.

Li Tai asked, "Hasn't the East Palace sent out the rest of the story yet?"

"Not yet...not yet."

The attendant replied hesitantly.

Li Tai paced back and forth angrily, "How unreasonable, how unreasonable! How can the East Palace act like this."

The attendant whispered, "I have sent people to search all over Chang'an City. Maybe we will get some news soon."

Another attendant came running over, and that person hurriedly said: "Your Highness the King of Yue, there is news!"

Li Tai suddenly became alert and asked, "What news?"

"It is said that the maid of the East Palace went to see the Queen today, and the people in Lizheng Palace said that Mr. Cao is in the East Palace."

"Sure enough! Sure enough!" Li Tai put his hands behind his back and continued to pace back and forth, his steps getting faster and faster, probably because he was angry.

What kind of person is Mr. Cao, who could write such a heart-wrenching story?

The story of the Red Mansion is well known in the harem, and even the current emperor often reads it. Mr. Cao is in the East Palace. When did the East Palace have such a person?

At night, Li Tai gritted his teeth and tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

The next morning, Li Chengqian was sitting in front of the door of the bedroom in the East Palace, brushing his teeth.

There was a group of palace maids brushing their teeth with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, what is this?" Ning'er, who had just brushed her teeth, held an object curiously.

"This is a shuttlecock." Li Chengqian said with a smile, "Do you know how to play shuttlecock?"

Seeing Ning'er shaking her head, he demonstrated it immediately.

At first, Ning'er could only kick the shuttlecock a few times clumsily, and it fell to the ground.

The girl seemed to have an innate talent for the game of shuttlecock kicking. After several failures, she quickly mastered the key points of the movements.

Afterwards, Ning'er was able to kick the shuttlecock in various ways and she also played shuttlecock with other palace maids in the East Palace.

Li Chengqian walked from the bedroom to the front hall and looked at the numerous books on the bookshelf.

Soon, Ning'er also walked to the side of His Highness. Her cheeks were still a little red after playing shuttlecock. It turned out that girls from Guanzhong looked better with a red face.

Li Chengqian sat down and asked, "After seeing the Queen Mother yesterday, did she give any instructions?"

Ning Er replied: "The Queen said that since Red Mansions was written by Mr. Cao, it can only be written by Mr. Cao."

"Well, that's good too."

"Your Highness, please rest assured. I have already made an agreement with the girls. They will not tell anyone about this. I just wonder when Your Highness will tell the story of the Red Mansion again?"

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said slowly: "Let's talk about it later. I have other things to do today."

Ning Er asked happily, "Your Highness, are you going to leave the East Palace?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "I want to demolish the dilapidated rooms in the East Palace. The extra wood and stones can be used to repair other rooms. You can also set up a stove in your side room. It will probably take three to five days to complete."

"Well, I will demolish it right away."

"Let me do it."

"Let the servants do this kind of dirty work."

"Just think of it as exercise for me."

Your Highness's orders must be obeyed, just as Your Highness said that people must drink boiled water and wash their hands before and after meals.

The people in the Eastern Palace have been living according to this rule.

In the words of His Highness, you must abide by the rules in the Eastern Palace. Even if you are no longer in the Eastern Palace in the future, you must live according to these rules after you leave. Developing good living habits will have many benefits.

Speaking of leaving the Eastern Palace, Ning'er smiled bitterly. As palace maids, they never had the final say on where to go.

Besides, this little corner of the East Palace is so beautiful, who would want to leave? People would try every means to stay here.

Where can we find someone as kind as Your Highness who treats us well?

Li Chengqian led the palace maids to start the repair plan. The girls watched the prince climb to the roof, remove the broken tiles, and then replace them with old but intact tiles.

The story of the Red Mansion came to an abrupt end these two days, and no subsequent story was reported.

Today, Li Tai could no longer bear it. He planned to go to the Eastern Palace to ask in person, but when he arrived at the gate of the Eastern Palace, he had difficulty taking a step forward.

Thirteen-year-old Li Tai was wearing a thick coat and pacing back and forth outside the East Palace.

Soon, three palace maids came pushing a wooden cart filled with mud, sand, bricks and stones.

When the palace maids saw Li Tai, they all bowed and saluted.

Seeing this, he hurriedly asked, "Is Mr. Cao in the East Palace?"

"Which Mr. Cao is your Highness the King of Yue referring to?"

Li Tai emphasized: "It's the one who wrote the Dream of the Red Chamber."

The two maids looked at each other and whispered, "Mr. Cao is a guest of the Crown Prince. His Highness is now repairing a house for Mr. Cao."

"I see." Li Tai forced a smile, feeling somewhat comforted, and let out a long sigh.

The palace maid in front of her was speechless.

Li Tai was worried, so he asked again, "Since we are building a house for Mr. Cao, what else is missing?"

"You'll have to ask Mr. Cao to find out."

Li Tai nodded continuously, "Then go and ask. I will wait here."

"Here."

The palace maid pushed the cart and walked into the East Palace under Li Tai's sharp gaze.

Li Chengqian was having dinner with a group of palace maids. They were eating noodles today. Although his skill of making noodles was a little rusty, he was still able to cope with it.

"Your Highness." The returning palace maid said, "Your Highness the King of Yue is outside the East Palace."

"Yeah." Li Chengqian nodded in response, turning a deaf ear to these words, and said, "Hurry up and wash your hands and face, and eat."

Hearing the word "eat" sounds like an order, but it warms one's heart.

They added, "They also said that if Mr. Cao needs anything, just tell him."

Li Chengqian nodded in understanding, ate the noodles in the bowl, and asked Ning'er to write down a bunch of necessary materials.

According to the plan, when renovating the Eastern Palace, after demolishing the old house, the bricks, stones and mud borrowed from the Queen Mother would be enough to build two heating stoves and make a warm kang.

It’s not that there’s really anything missing.

Ning'er asked the palace maid Xiaofu to give the silk cloth with the materials written on it to the King of Yue.

Li Tai stood outside the Eastern Palace, about forty or fifty steps away from it, just staring eagerly.

Xiaofu was a thirteen-year-old girl, the youngest in the East Palace. She was called Xiaofu because she looked blessed. She stepped forward and handed over the silk, "This is what Mr. Cao needs."

Li Tai quickly took it, looked at it carefully, and couldn't help but read it out loud, "A stone of rice and flour, a lamb, a bushel of salt, wood, cloth and silk..."

After reading it, Li Tai was a little confused again. He said with a click of his tongue: "That's a lot."

Fortunately, his father had given him many rewards in recent years, so Li Tai was not without money. He asked again, "Are these also used to repair the house?"

Xiaofu said, "These are all what Mr. Cao needs. If His Royal Highness the Prince of Yue is in trouble, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can also..."

"Sure!" Li Tai agreed immediately. "Let's prepare it right away. Excuse me, can Mr. Cao continue writing Dream of the Red Chamber after these are ready?"

Xiaofu didn't reply, but went back with a very happy look on his face.

Li Tai was still standing there, and finally went back. As he walked along the way, he said to himself: "I think Mr. Cao must be a person with a strange temper."

The Tang Dynasty succeeded the Han and Wei Dynasties, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the former Sui Dynasty.

However, in the Tang Dynasty, where storybooks were scarce, Li Tai was not the only one who was concerned about the Dream of the Red Chamber.

(End of this chapter)