Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 94 Princess Taiping tastes Want Want Mini Crisps! [Seeking monthly votes]

The Great Tang Dynasty, Kaiyuan Era, inside the Taiji Palace.

Li Longji rarely left the Wude Hall. Under the pretext of hunting deer, he came to Fanglin Garden and took the opportunity to meet with several powerful commanders of the Imperial Guards. Some spies planted around Princess Taiping also changed into Imperial Guard attire and secretly paid their respects to His Majesty.

Li Longji's throne was unstable even after ten months on the throne.

First, there's his biological father, Emperor Emeritus Li Dan, a typical sister-obsessed emperor. No matter what his younger sister, Princess Taiping, wanted to do, he would make his son, Li Longji, cooperate.

Princess Taiping, meanwhile, was also sharpening her knives, seizing control of the court, replacing prime ministers, and practically ruling with an iron fist.

With a biological father and an aunt, Li Longji was suffocated. Even when he met with his confidants, he had to use the excuse of going on a hunting trip. It was too stifling.

Fortunately, his plan was successful. The more he tolerated her, the more Princess Taiping's side became and the more lawless they became.

The Tao Te Ching says, "If Heaven wishes to destroy someone, it will first make them go mad." This is the path that Li Longji took.

When Princess Taiping's arrogance provoked public outrage, it was time for him to step forward and clean up the mess. At that point, he could use Princess Taiping to subtly express his stance to his father.
Once you've abdicated, enjoy your retirement and stop interfering in politics!

While Li Longji was plotting in Fanglin Garden, Princess Taiping was also meeting with her ministers in the Zhenguo Princess Mansion in Xingdaofang.

Xingdaofang was located next to Zhuque Avenue, separated from the Imperial City, where the Three Departments and Six Ministries were located, by only one wall. Any slight movement in the court would reach Princess Taiping's ears immediately.

Princess Zhenguo's residence was very large, almost occupying the entire Xingdao Ward. According to Tang law, such a large area was clearly not in compliance with regulations, but Li Dan doted on his younger sister.

At this moment, Princess Taiping's spies, who were actually the stewards in charge of the inn's backyard, were reporting on Gongsun Da Niang's every move over the past few days:
"The Pomegranate Fairy likes to hold a flat black board and point at it. Strange sounds come out with each point. In addition to that strange board, she also has all kinds of strange foods, which she will occasionally let us taste."

Princess Taiping wore elaborate headdresses and luxurious clothes. She was plump and graceful, looking only in her thirties, not at all like a forty-eight-year-old woman.

Upon hearing the steward's account, a hint of doubt flashed in Princess Taiping's eyes, who had remained silent all along:
What kind of food?

The innkeeper reached into his robes and slowly pulled out a small packet of Want Want Mini Crisps, a product easily found in modern supermarkets.

The waiter took it and presented it to Princess Taiping.

"This thing...is it edible?"

Princess Taiping took the Want Want Little Crisps into her hands. There was a strange layer on the outside, with many words and patterns printed on it. She didn't know how they were printed on.

The innkeeper said respectfully:
"The outer layer is inedible; you have to tear it open from the serrated edge to taste the pastry inside... The Pomegranate Fairy said that the outer layer is called wrapping paper, but I have tried it in secret. It does not rot when soaked in water and dries as soon as it comes out of the water, which is completely different from paper."

Princess Taiping examined it for a while before realizing that the so-called serrations were actually the seals at the top and bottom. She tore it open forcefully and smelled the pastries inside:

"It smells nice, but the taste..."

Just as she was about to put it in her mouth to taste, General Chang Yuankai, who was standing by, reminded her:

"Princess, the matter at hand is of utmost importance; do not take any risks!"

He felt that the origin of this thing was unknown, and if Li Longji had poisoned it, he might get sick if he ate it rashly... The reason he had this thought was because Chang Yuankai had just suggested poisoning Li Longji's food.

Princess Taiping paused for a moment, then picked up a Want Want Mini Crisp and put it in her mouth:

"If we want to conquer the country, how can we not even tolerate a small snack?"

She tasted it and found it delicious. She rewarded the innkeeper and instructed him to continue to keep an eye on the Pomegranate Fairy's every move.

If Li Longji were here, he would definitely be so happy he'd slap his thigh... The strategy of giving Gongsun a grand reception was the right one; the attention of the entire Princess Zhenguo's residence had indeed shifted to that gluttonous girl.

Princess Taiping ate a piece of Want Want Mini Crisp and asked those around her:

When will the Yiyuan Temple be consecrated?

"The craftsmen are working day and night, and the consecration will be completed within ten days."

Princess Taiping nodded:

"After the consecration, I will find an auspicious day to personally go to Yiyuan Temple and enshrine my mother's memorial tablet there, so that she can enjoy the incense offerings in the heavens."

At this moment, the spy planted in the palace stood up and reported:
"Li Bai, the esteemed disciple of the Immortal Master Yiyuan and the son of Li Ke, a merchant from Longchang County in Shu Prefecture, will soon be setting off for Chang'an."

Upon hearing this, Chang Yuankai offered his advice again:

"It would be better to ambush them on the road and kill them. When the whole world hears of this, they will surely submit to the princess."

Princess Taiping glanced at this fool:
"Are you planning to make me offend the gods and have no descendants? Issue the order: Li Bai must not be obstructed in any way on his way to the capital. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"

After giving her instructions, Princess Taiping waved her hand, and after everyone had left, she looked up at the sky:

"Mother, if you are watching over me from heaven, can you bless your daughter to succeed?"

At this moment, Wu Meiniang, who was being mourned by Princess Taiping, was leading Gongsun Da Niang in cleaning the Hunyuan Palace.

The herbicide I applied a few days ago is now working. The once lush weeds have dried up and need to be removed to maintain their appearance.

Near the gate, Zhou Yi had just finished an interview with the tax bureau. "Thank you for your cooperation, Master Zhou. We will be publishing articles about your voluntary tax payment on platforms such as WeChat official accounts, Toutiao, and Baijiahao in the near future. Please follow, forward, and like them to contribute to the economic prosperity of Xiuchuan County."

Zhou Yi took out his phone and followed the Xiuchuan Tax Bureau's official WeChat account:
"I just did what a citizen should do, and I don't deserve too much praise."

Tian Wenfeng sighed:

"If everyone had your level of awareness, our tax bureau's workload could be reduced by 90%... Thank you again, Master Zhou, for cooperating with our interview. It's getting late, we should head back now."

Zhou Yi quickly tried to persuade them to stay:

"How about eating first and then leaving?"

"No, no, we have rules that we can't accept invitations from outside."

After seeing Tian Wenfeng off, Zhou Yi instructed Wu Meiniang and Gongsun Da Niang to remember to change the incense at the God of Wealth Temple and Guanyin Hall. Then he rode his motorcycle down the mountain to go to the police station to find out the details of last night's car accident.

As Zhou Yi continued down the mountain path, he passed the White Tiger position and saw the broken guardrail and a messy hillside. He realized that the talisman was truly effective.

Unfortunately, there aren't many talismans left by my grandfather, and I'm too slow at drawing them myself. I need to train Li Bai more and improve his talisman-drawing skills as soon as possible.

Upon arriving at the police station, as soon as I parked the car, Liu Peng came to greet me:

"I was just about to go up the mountain to find you. I've roughly figured out what happened in the car accident... Xiao Yi, do you know Fan Chengye?"

Zhou Yi shook his head:

"I don't know him, I've never heard of him."

Liu Peng explained:
"It seems Fan Chengye has his eye on Hunyuan Palace. A few days ago, he went to the government office to inquire about information, talked to Wei Ge, who operates an excavator, to learn about the situation, and even reported you for tax evasion to the tax bureau. Last night, he gathered four people who had just been released from prison and drove to Yunwu Mountain after drinking, probably intending to cause you trouble. However, they got into a car accident on the way, and all five of them died. Fan Chengye suffered the worst; he was strangled to death by the seatbelt and hung from a tree all night."

Fan Chengye came to Yunwu Town to inquire about Hunyuan Palace. Zhou Yi knew that Niu Yawen and Zhao Wei had told him about it.

But I never expected that this guy would actually report me to the tax bureau. He's really never idle.

He looked at Liu Peng and asked:

"Is the car accident case closed just like that?"

"How could that be? Such a big incident, with five people dead, requires a county-wide crackdown on drunk driving. The city and province will also produce related documentaries. The exact time for the case to be closed is still unclear."

After leaving the police station, Zhou Yi went to check out the highway project site. Prefabricated houses were being built there, and Zhao Wei was using an excavator to help them erect utility poles. He estimated that electricity would be available soon.

Zhou Yi wondered when Xie Yukun would arrive; he was really looking forward to meeting the guy.

It was almost noon when Zhou Yi rode his motorcycle to a small stall in the town center and bought three servings of spicy cold noodles and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) to go. Then he returned to the mountain and had lunch with the two beautiful women.

After the meal, Wu Meiniang took a letter out of her bag and handed it to Zhou Yi:
"Crown Prince Li Zhi wrote you a letter, seemingly asking for your guidance on some issues."

After saying that, he added:
“He passed it on to me through Li Mingda; we never met.”

When Zhou Yi received the letter, the envelope instantly turned yellow. He carefully tore open the seal, took out the letter, and unfolded it. He saw that Li Zhi had written a very sincere letter in tiny, neat characters.

Setting aside all the empty pleasantries, Li Zhi only wanted to ask three questions:

Where does the path of reform lie for the Tang Dynasty?

"Are powerful clans the cornerstone of the empire or a hindrance?"

"What changes does the court need to make in order to ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty?"

These three questions cover almost every aspect of Chinese history, and can even be said to point directly to the core of feudal dynastic rule, silencing the Book of Changes.

Aunt Gongsun leaned over and asked:
Is it difficult to answer what His Majesty Emperor wrote?

Zhou Yi nodded:

"Strictly speaking, these three questions would require at least several lengthy papers to answer clearly. I'll find some materials online and print them out so he can familiarize himself with them first. Reforms require caution; we can't act rashly."

Later, I'll find some rather extreme opinions on politics, print them out, and broaden the horizons of this rebellious young man, Li Zhi. I'll also list out brief histories of various dynasties.

The Book of Changes doesn't know how feudal dynasties achieved long-term stability, but how they collapsed has long been thoroughly studied by historians, and there are plenty of opinions available online.

As for how to avoid these roads, that's up to Li Zhi's choice.

Now that Li Shimin's lifespan has been extended, Li Zhi's ascension to the throne will also be delayed. This is a good opportunity to nurture him and make him a different kind of emperor.

During Li Zhi's reign, the Tang Dynasty reached its zenith and its greatest territorial extent. If a seed of rebellion were planted in his heart now, he might surpass Li Shimin's title of "Heavenly Khan" and earn the title of "Earth's Ruler."

Li Zhi's health is not very good, so we need to pay close attention to him to avoid repeating the mistakes of history...

Zhou Yi was sitting in front of the computer, preparing to search for some relevant information to print out. Just as he was busy working on it, Uncle Ming suddenly sent him a message:
"Master Yi, I have a job here with a reward of 50,000. The client is in a hurry. Are you interested in taking it? Don't worry, I won't take a penny this time. I'll just consider it as making friends with you."

(End of this chapter)