A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 824 Crown Prince Chengqian
Crown Prince Li Chengqian alighted from the carriage.

He was draped in a sable fur cloak, which covered him completely, and he even wore a fox fur veil on his head.

Li Yi stepped forward to greet him.
Chengqian sneezed when the cold wind blew on him, and a snot bubble popped out of his nose.

The nanny behind the Crown Prince quickly stepped forward to help him wipe his face, and Chengqian tilted his head back to cooperate.

"Your Highness, it's windy outside, let's go inside quickly." The attendant said, while calling to the palace servants to set up a fleshy screen around the prince.

Seeing this scene, Li Yi could only smile and step forward.

"Teacher," Chengqian said politely, "I've come to bother you."

Li Yi touched Chengqian's face; it was indeed a bit cold. "Let's go into the mansion first."

Li Yi led him inside by the hand and noticed that his hand was warm, even a little sweaty. He reached into his collar and touched his back, which was also slightly sweaty.

This child is wearing too many clothes.

The crown prince's nanny, a woman of about thirty, was very dissatisfied with Li Yi's behavior and protested.

"How could Situ put his cold hands on the back of the Crown Prince's neck? This is letting the cold wind in and making the Crown Prince catch a chill."

The crown prince was already feeling unwell due to the cold.

···
Li Yi turned his head and looked her over a few times, then said, "You can go back to the East Palace now, and so can everyone else from the East Palace."

His Majesty has sent the Crown Prince to my residence for a while; I will take care of things here.

The woman stood there stunned, her face turning bright red, and immediately objected.

The group of women around her also expressed their dissatisfaction.

Li Yi asked,

These people included the crown prince's tutors, wet nurses, personal palace servants, and eunuchs, all of whom had cared for the crown prince since childhood.
But Li Yi didn't care about any of that.

They all need to go back.

"It wasn't cold in the first month of the lunar calendar this year, yet you dressed the Crown Prince in so many layers that he's sweating profusely and all wet. How can he not fall ill?"

"Don't you know that if you want your child to be healthy, he should be kept slightly hungry and cold? You've dressed the Crown Prince in so many clothes and covered him up so tightly, which is completely wrong."

Li Yi ignored them, blocked them at the door, and led the Crown Prince into the mansion.

After arriving at the warm hall,

He then summoned his sister-in-law, Ji Zongchi, and also called Lu Congbi, who was staying at the mansion.
"His Highness the Crown Prince will be staying at the residence for a while, and I would like to ask you to take care of him for me. Is that alright?"

Ji Zongchi was the younger sister of Ji Sujun, a concubine of Li Yi. She had just married the sixth son of Prince Yi'an, Li Xiaochang, last year. Shortly after the marriage, Li Xiaochang's rebellion was exposed, and the whole family was exiled to Lingnan. Ji Zongchi had no choice but to divorce her husband, Li Yiyu.

Lu Congbi was the cousin-in-law of Du Shiniang, Li Yi's wife, and the wife of Du Caigan, the former governor of Huazhou. Du Caigan was also the mastermind behind Li Xiaochang's rebellion last year and was exiled to Lingnan. In order for her young children to stay in the capital, Lu Congbi had no choice but to divorce her husband.

Originally, she was going to return to her maternal family in Fanyang, but her family pressured her to remarry, wanting her to marry into a new noble family. Lu Congbi refused and temporarily stayed at the Li family's house.

Before the New Year, the two of them, along with some female relatives including Silla maid Kim Ok-soo, brought several older children, including Lee Suk and Lee Cong, to Luoyang to celebrate the New Year.

While they were at the mansion, they were also helping to take care of Li Shu and the others, and they gained some experience in caring for children, especially learning some of the Li family's new parenting methods.

Both Lady Lu and Lady Ji readily agreed.

"Let's change the Crown Prince's clothes first, from the inside out. He should wear our pure cotton thermal underwear underneath, a middle garment, and a sheepskin vest. He can wear this indoors."

Put on a mink fur coat as soon as you go outside.

Don't keep kids wrapped in a heater all day long. They need to move around more, run and jump, so they won't get sick easily.

"Your Highness, please remember to tuck a sweat-absorbing towel around the back of your neck while you are exercising, and change it after you are done."

Li Yi also requested that the Crown Prince should engage in more outdoor activities every day, such as getting up early to do some exercises, playing football or archery in the morning, sunbathing at noon, and riding horses in the afternoon.

Indoor reading, outdoor exercise
Make reasonable arrangements.

Overprotection can actually make one more susceptible to illness.

A diet that keeps you seven-tenths full and three-tenths cold, along with moderate exercise and a balanced diet, is essential for healthy growth.

That's just how the Li family's children are.
I would never do what some rich families do: even when their children are two or three years old, they refuse to let them get out of bed, carrying or holding them all day and night.

Although Ji and Lu were still young, they had been with the Li family for almost half a year and had seen firsthand the effectiveness of the Li family's parenting methods, so they readily accepted them.

"Your Highness, let me take you to take a bath. My house has a hot spring. A hot bath is very comfortable and will get rid of all the cold."

Li Yi, seeing that the Crown Prince was a bit too quiet, smiled and led him to his own bathroom.

The two were completely naked.

Lying down in the lotus-shaped bath, the hot water was just right, and it felt incredibly comfortable.

They chatted while soaking in the water.

Li Yi deliberately told Chengqian jokes and riddles, which quickly made him laugh out loud and he was no longer a stranger to him.

The two even rubbed each other's backs.

The bathtub wasn't very big, about the size of a large bathtub, but the two of them could still play around in it.

Li Yi told Chengqian not to call him "teacher," and he didn't treat Chengqian as the crown prince.
Young Chengqian was seeing others treat him as an equal for the first time, and it was quite novel to him.

After showering, I dried my hair and changed into a new set of clothes prepared by the Li family.

Inside was a very proper set of pure cotton thermal underwear, a style that didn't exist in the Tang Dynasty. Chengqian found it very warm and convenient to wear.

"This thing is also called thermal underwear. It's close-fitting and warm when worn in autumn and winter."

"Is this made of cotton? I've heard that cotton is very valuable, several times more expensive than silk." It was the first time the Crown Prince had worn such close-fitting clothes, and they were especially warm. He tugged at them, and was very curious about the opening in the trousers.

"This cotton was formerly called 'white cotton,' and it is said to have been introduced to Gaochang from India and Persia in the Western Regions. The climate in Gaochang was very suitable for its cultivation."

They grow and weave white brocade, which they then sell in our Central Plains. Fine white brocade sells for five or six times the price of silk, and there's still no market for it.

However, the price of cotton cloth in the Tang Dynasty has dropped considerably, now three to four times that of ordinary silk. This is cotton cloth that we in the Central Plains grow and weave ourselves, with a higher yield than that of Gaochang, and it is also of better quality.

The best white linen from Gaochang is only slightly more expensive than regular linen here now.

"Our Great Tang Dynasty is truly amazing," Chengqian praised, feeling very proud.

The two returned to the hall.

Li Shu had already arrived with her younger siblings, Li Cong and Li Yu. Seeing Cheng Qian following Li Yi, she jumped off the bed and went to him.
“You said it was the Crown Prince?” Li Yi tugged at Li Shu’s braid. “Call him Crown Prince Brother.”

Is he older than me?

"Yes, I'm half a year older than you."

Little Chili and Xiao Shu pouted, seemingly a little disappointed. She was the boss at home, but now she had to call someone else "brother."

Staring intently at the Crown Prince, their faces almost touching, the shy prince blushed.

"Wow, you're blushing."

The prince's face turned even redder.

Little Chili chuckled, "Alright then, I'll call you brother. But in our family, you still have to listen to me. Taipinglang and Ping'anlang all listen to me."

"Okay." Chengqian nodded, his voice a little soft.

"My name is Li Shu, and my nickname is Little Chili."

"My name is Li Chengqian, and His Majesty and the Empress call me Dalang."

"Brother Chengqian, let's go play."

Chengqian looked at Li Yi, who waved his hand, "Let's go play together."

Ji Zongchi and Lu Congbi nodded to Li Yi and followed him out.

Led by their eldest sister, Li Shu, five or six children cheered and rushed out of the hall, running wild in the courtyard.

Li Yi smiled.

He returned to his study.

This house, which covers only twenty acres, is actually not small. It has a residence, a garden, and a library.

The first floor is where he drinks tea and reads.

The second and third floors are filled with collected books and calligraphy.

The library is located in a quiet corner of the garden.

There was a stove burning inside, which kept burning day and night, making it very warm.

Take off your coat,

Li Yi leaned back in his chair, enjoying the rare tranquility as he boiled water and brewed tea.

He took a nap.
Then I felt a sudden drop.
He quickly opened his eyes.
With a thud, he landed on the ground.

Turning around and looking,
Somewhat surprised, he actually fell onto the bed.

The familiar four-piece bedding set, the familiar upholstered headboard, and the bright lamp overhead made him feel dazed.

Shaking his head,

He sat up.

This was the study in his original house.
Because he often stayed up late, he also put a bed in his study, which became his personal haven.

Once the door is closed, it becomes a self-contained world.

When did the lights come on in this house? Hasn't it been without water, electricity, and internet for a long time?
He got up and got out of bed.
Upon opening the bedroom door and entering the living room, they found it still filled with various gold and silver artifacts, gold ingots, and silver coins.

These are all part of his collection.

He used this space as his treasure vault.

The gold, silver, pearls, ivory, tortoiseshell, and coral artifacts in this living room are priceless.

Li Yi originally thought he had just taken a nap and then his consciousness entered this place, but in fact, this time he actually entered the place entirely.

Even more surprising is that
It's been six years, and there's still no water, no electricity, and no internet here.

Now we have electricity and water, but when I turn on the computer, I find there's still no internet.

But this also surprised him greatly.
In recent years, this space has gradually become just a secret storage room for Li Yi.

He also took out and used many of the original items here.

But now,
Everyone else can come in now.
What's even more surprising is that the kettle, cups, tea, instant noodles, and seasonings he had taken before have all returned to normal.

Nothing is missing.

The only difference is that there are more gold and silver items in the living room.

He can go back.

With a thought, he found himself back on the first floor of the library in his Luoyang residence.
The water on the stove was still boiling, just as it had been when he left. It seemed as if he had stayed in that room for more than ten minutes, and time had not passed here.

Boil the water.

Li Yi brewed a pot of tea.

Then he went back to the hut, took a packet of White Elephant Bone Broth Noodles and the Yukihira pot used for cooking the noodles, and returned to the library.

Looking at the instant noodles in his hand,
Tear open the packaging, put the dough into the pot, tear open the seasoning packet, lift the kettle and pour in boiling water.
The long-lost fragrance filled the air.

Put the lid on.
Li Yi stared blankly at the pot of instant noodles.

This is the seventh year.

This change was somewhat sudden. When he first transmigrated, he earned his first pot of gold by trading this small pot.

Is this pot still the same one? Is the pot that was originally sold to the Du family still there?
The noodles were ready, and Li Yi had just taken two bites.

"Wow, it smells so good, Daddy, what are you eating?" Little Chili appeared out of nowhere, all flustered and bubbly, her little face flushed. Five or six little tails followed behind her, and Prince Chengqian was also there. Judging from his happy expression, he seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Li Yi smiled and waved to them.
"Father cooked some noodles, come and eat."

Li Shu ran over, "The noodles smell so good!"

Li Yi distributed noodles to them. Each person only needed two chopsticks to eat a packet of noodles, and each little guy ate with great enthusiasm and praise.

Even Crown Prince Chengqian said that he had never eaten such delicious noodles before.

It smells delicious!
(End of this chapter)