Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 26 Li Zhi is determined to eat lychees
Li Zhi murmured as he drank tea, "I never thought that Chen'er's careless words could actually cause the Korean rebellion to collapse without a fight... With such talent, it would be a waste if he spent all day studying such strange and cunning tricks."
"Your Majesty also knows that I said it unintentionally, so why do you feel sad about it?" Wu Zetian asked with a smile.
However, Li Zhi shook his head and said: "The iron ball in my hand, the improved plow, the punctuation marks, and the shuttlecock in front of me... they are all simple creations, but no one has ever made them in history, which is enough to prove their quick thinking!"
After hearing his words, Wu Zetian was silent for a moment: "Does Your Majesty want to teach Chen'er a good lesson?"
Unexpectedly, Li Zhi shook his head and said, "Chen'er is very talented, and the teaching in the palace may not be suitable for her. Moreover, Fu Lai also reported that Chen'er is self-disciplined and diligent in studying every day, and has her own way. It is better for us not to interfere."
"What Your Majesty said just now..." Having said this, Wu Zetian suddenly stopped, she seemed to have thought of something.
Li Zhi turned his head slightly and showed a smug smile: "Mei Niang, why do you think I never forbade Chen'er to sneak into the court to listen to government affairs?"
Wu Zetian also suddenly laughed, picked up the teacup and clinked it with Li Zhi's: "So that's how it is... Your Majesty is wise!"
Hearing her praise, Li Zhi still maintained an unfathomable smile, but the health ball in his hand turned twice very quickly.
Li Yuechen never thought that her daily self-discipline was extremely abnormal in Li Zhi's eyes.
The silly and cute persona she tried so hard to maintain was not taken seriously by Li Zhi at all.
While playing shuttlecock with his brothers and sisters, he observed the couple out of the corner of his eye.
I just saw them whispering to each other and clinking their teacups together.
Although I don't know what they are talking about, but judging from their smiling faces, it might be some sweet words between an old couple.
After a while, a young eunuch came to Zhang Chengxin and whispered something, then he came to Li Zhi and his wife and said something.
The smile on Li Zhi's face remained unchanged, he just waved his hand casually, it seemed like it was no big deal.
Less than ten minutes later, a gorgeously dressed woman was seen jogging towards them from outside.
The woman was about the same age as Li Zhi, and also wore a gorgeous headdress. She saluted Li Zhi and his wife with a smile.
"Greetings to your majesty, madam."
Li Zhi smiled and waved his hand: "Aunt, please don't be so polite. Since you are here today, please play with the younger generation for a while on behalf of me and Mei Niang."
Li Yuechen had also seen this person, Princess Qianjin, the daughter of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan. Although she was about the same age as Li Zhi, she was his aunt because of their seniority.
She had a particularly good relationship with her mother, Wu Zetian. Although she lived outside the palace, she could go to the palace at any time, no matter day or night, when she wanted to see her .
Seeing her coming, Li Yuechen and several brothers and sisters also saluted: "Hello, aunt."
"Oh, I told you not to call me that." Princess Qianjin came over with a smile and pinched Li Yuechen's face, which had not yet lost its baby fat, "Did Chen'er miss me?"
"I can't remember!" Li Yuechen pretended to be angry and turned her head away, "My aunt rarely comes to the palace to see me."
Princess Qianjin was amused by her: "Oh, I live outside the palace, it's not easy to enter the palace, Chen'er, don't be angry!"
While comforting her, he rubbed her face frantically.
Li Yuechen couldn't stand being kneaded anymore, so she turned her head and struggled out: "Auntie, Chen'er made a new toy, would you like to play with me?"
"Okay!" Princess Qianjin rolled up her sleeves and said, "I'll tell you in advance that I was an excellent player at polo!"
Li Yuechen looked helpless: "Auntie, this is not a polo ball..."
"It's okay. I'm not afraid of anything. Come on!" Princess Qianjin joined the shuttlecock kicking team very generously.
I have to say that the women in the Tang Dynasty were really manly. As long as they had the conditions, they would basically learn horse riding and archery.
Playing shuttlecock or something like that, as long as your body can react and adapt for a while, you will be able to play it.
This is what the princess does. After adapting for a while, she can kick accurately.
"Hey!"
She kicked the shuttlecock lightly and it flew towards Li Yuechen.
But it was obviously too tall. Li Yuechen was only about 1.2 meters tall now, and was about to fly over his head.
She jumped up suddenly and hit the shuttlecock with her forehead, causing it to fall straight down.
Then he swung his leg in a small twist and the shuttlecock was kicked out again.
"Come!" the second brother Li Xian shouted, "I'll come too!"
Then he raised his head and hit the shuttlecock, and Xiao Wanhua failed and missed the target.
"Hahaha……"
There is no harm without comparison. Li Xian’s failure to show off caused laughter from the other people around him.
But he didn't care. He just picked up the shuttlecock helplessly and kicked it at the princess opposite.
Li Zhi, who was sitting in the back, was spinning a health ball in his hand while watching them play. He took a sip of tea from time to time, and no one knew what he was thinking.
…
A few days passed in a flash and it was already May.
The weather was getting warmer, and the court was worried about another problem.
This year's drought is more severe than last year, and the court must make preparations early.
These days, Li Zhi and his wife have been troubled by this matter and have not been able to sleep well at night.
In the Yanying Hall, countless candles illuminated the entire space. Li Zhi sat on a chair, spinning the health ball in his hand rapidly.
He pressed Qingming acupoint with one hand, closed his eyes and asked, "How are the granaries in each state?"
Wu Zetian, who was sitting at the table next to her, shook her head and said, "No one is satisfied. Fortunately, the fishing industry is thriving at the seaside, so we don't have to worry for the time being."
Li Zhi shook his head: "Does Mei Niang have any countermeasures? Now the states are short of food, the people are hungry and distressed, I am afraid that the foundation of the country will be shaken!"
Wu Zetian bit her lower lip and shook her head: "At present, I can't think of a solution."
Just then, Fu Lai came to report on the princess's situation in recent days. Li Zhi waved his hand and let him in, just to change his mood.
Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were usually very busy, so the children's current situation was usually reported by the eunuchs who were responsible for taking care of them.
"Saint, Your Majesty. The princess has been practicing martial arts and studying diligently as usual these days. She visits Lord Liu and Madam Rongguo every three to five days!" Fu Lai reported.
Li Zhi nodded: "Speaking of Liu Zhengze, he has been unemployed for quite some time, right?"
Wu Zetian grinned and said, "Since I became Chen'er's teacher, I have been at home. I think that now that Mr. Xu has retired, the task of compiling the national history needs a virtuous person to take over."
Hearing her words, Li Zhi also showed an understanding smile: "Just do as Mei Niang wants!"
Then he said to Fulai, "Find a chance to talk to Chen'er about the severe drought in various places these days, but don't reveal that it was my intention. Understand?"
Fu Lai's eyes rolled and he quickly understood what Li Zhi meant. He bowed and said, "I understand!"
Li Zhi nodded and waved his hand for him to leave.
Wu Zetian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, do you agree with this? Could it be that you are thinking of Chen'er's unintentional words?"
"That's true, but we can't pin our hopes on it. We should still think carefully about this matter!"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I understand!" Wu Zetian nodded.
…
Under Li Zhi's instruction, Eunuch Fu "accidentally" told Li Yuechen about the severe drought in various states these days.
Although he felt pity for the people, Li Yuechen still could not do anything.
She didn't understand hybrid rice and couldn't create artificial rainfall, so she could only pray in her heart that as few people as possible would starve to death.
Anyway, Li Zhi and the others will definitely find a way.
Although we cannot expect the rulers of the feudal era to be very good to the people, at least in this era, population is also an important strategic resource.
Therefore, the imperial court certainly could not sit idly by. Even if there was no other way, it had to come up with a solution.
This is also why there were "official media" in the Tang Dynasty that specialized in helping ordinary people find partners. It was all for the purpose of having more children and increasing the population.
After learning this, Li Yuechen did not say anything suicidal, but continued to do his own thing every day.
However, it is worth mentioning that Master Liu Rengui was recalled by imperial decree to compile national history and could no longer stay idle at home.
So every time Li Yuechen went to Liu Rengui to ask him to help correct his movements, the location changed from his home to outside the Shaoyang Courtyard of the previous dynasty.
The weather was getting hotter day by day. Perhaps because Li Zhi felt sorry for his daughter, he was ready to reward her with some ice.
There is an ice cellar in the palace, where frozen ice is stored in the winter. In the summer, people can knock off a few pieces every now and then to make shaved ice and other cooling drinks.
Occasionally, when the weather was very hot, some would be given as rewards to court officials to help them cool down, which was considered quite humane.
Li Yuechen was thinking of making a fan for Li Zhi and his wife, as well as Mrs. Rongguo and other elders to win their favor.
The fans of this era were all round fans, or feather fans like Zhuge Liang's, and there were no folding fans.
So Li Yuechen planned to use this thing to improve his favorability, and gave one to Li Zhi and his wife, his master and others.
The fan frame is easy to deal with, you can find a carpenter to solve the problem, but the key lies in the fan surface.
The quality of paper in this era was very poor and was not suitable for making fans, so Li Yuechen thought of silk.
Compared to paper, this thing is obviously more durable.
As for being able to draw or write poems on the fan... let's wait until the quality of the paper improves.
Li Yuechen did what he said. He went straight to the craftsman supervisor, found the carpenter and told him his requirements.
For the imperial carpenters, fan ribs are not too simple to make.
In just about two hours, six sets of fan ribs were produced.
Li Yuechen asked Eunuch Fu to find some silk, and then the carpenters carefully attached it to the fan ribs with fish glue, and burned the rough edges with flames, and a folding fan was ready.
Opening a pure white fan, Li Yuechen suddenly had an urge to write a poem "Don't Be Angry" on it.
But after thinking about it, he decided not to do so. He took out one of the swords and demonstrated it to Eunuch Fu, and asked him to deliver it to Princess Qianjin's mansion. He then took the two swords and ran to Yanying Palace.
When he arrived at the door, he saw Zhao Renben coming out. After greeting each other, Li Yuechen went in.
The weather is getting hotter now. Behind Li Zhi and Wu Zetian in the Yanying Hall, there are palace maids taking turns to fan them continuously.
At the same time, he also held a round fan in his hand and fanned himself from time to time.
After seeing this scene, Li Yuechen felt that the folding fan was perhaps more of a pretense than a fan.
But what's the saying? Now that I'm here, I might as well improve my favorability according to the plan.
"Grandpa and Mom, look, I have made another new tool!" Li Yuechen jumped in front of Li Zhi.
"Oh? What object is it?" Li Zhi asked as he put down his teacup, looking very interested.
Li Yuechen took out a folding fan and opened it with a snap: "Grandpa, look quickly. This kind of folding fan is convenient for you to hold at ordinary times. You can open it whenever you want to fan yourself!"
"Um--"
Li Zhi felt a little curious and tried it himself: "It's really convenient!"
Then Li Yuechen took another one and ran to Wu Zetian: "Try it too, mother!"
Wu Zetian took it, opened it and tried it, but this time she did not praise it as usual. Instead, she shook her head and said, "It feels no different from a round fan."
"Chen'er said it was for convenience." Li Zhi turned his head and said, "Mei Niang usually has someone to serve her, so it doesn't make any difference. It's normal!"
"Hehe." Li Yuechen didn't mind at all. The key was not the gift, but the filial piety.
She climbed onto Wu Zetian's lap with a smile on her face: "Don't be sad, mother. I will definitely make better things next time to please you!"
Wu Zetian stretched out her finger and tapped her head: "Mother won't be angry about this, I just said that."
Li Yuechen kissed her on the cheek: "I know that mother is the best!"
Wu Zetian smiled and put her down from her lap: "You'd better go and comfort your grandfather."
"Why? Is Grandpa unhappy?" Li Yuechen asked.
Li Zhi, who was standing next to him, heard this and said without even turning his head, "It's not that I'm unhappy, it's just that I just said I wanted to eat lychees, but Zhao Renben said the journey was too long and I shouldn't waste my money and energy on this."
At this point, Li Zhi changed his tone and said jokingly: "Every time I get to this point, I feel like being an emperor is meaningless..."
It was really not easy for the emperor to eat lychees in those days, mainly because Chang'an did not produce lychees, and the journey to the south was too long, so they would go bad if transported over.
Li Zhi was a wise monarch and would certainly not do something like Emperor Minghuang of Tang did, which was to use the post stations as logistics .
Li Yuechen also knew that he was just complaining, so he walked up to him and said, "He made Grandpa unhappy. I'm going to help tease him and avenge Grandpa!"
“Hahaha…” Li Zhi put down the health ball, picked her up and put her on his lap, “That won’t do! It’s good that Chen’er has this intention! As long as Chen’er is here, Grandpa won’t be unhappy!”
Then he joined Li Yuechen in playing and making forget all his previous complaints.
Li Yuechen played with him while looking at the attendant next to him, curious about how he would record this history.
Later generations opened the history books and read the following: "Li Zhi was determined to eat lychees, but was rejected. He almost lost his mind and wanted to resign. The emperor's daughter was born beautiful and offered a plan to reform the government. The emperor felt that it was not in accordance with etiquette and rejected it. However, her filial piety is commendable and inspiring!"
Thinking of this, Li Yuechen shook his head secretly again, clearing out the mess in his mind.
As for wanting to eat lychees... maybe there is a way. Let's do an experiment after we go back. If it works, let Li Zhi eat lychees by this time next year!
